parking brake OLDSMOBILE BRAVADA 1996 Owners Manual

Engine Coolant Heater (Option)
The engine coolant heater
cord is secured on the
driver’s side of the vehicle,
by the brake controller.
In very cold weather,
0°F (- 18OC) or colder, the engine
coolant heater can help. You’ll get easier starting and
better fuel economy during engine warm-up. Usually,
the coolant heater should be plugged in
a minimum of
four hours prior to starting your vehicle.
To use the coolant heater:
1. Turn off the engine.
2. Open the hood and unwrap the electrical cord.
3. Plug it into a normal, grounded 110-volt AC outlet.
~ Plugging the cord into an ungrounded outlet
~ could cause an electrical shock. Also, the wrong
1 kind of extension cord could overheat and cause
~ a fire. You could be seriously injured. Plug the
~ cord into a properly grounded three-prong
110-volt AC outlet.
If the cord won’t reach, use a
heavy-duty three-prong extension cord rated for
at least 15 amps.
4. After you’ve used the coolant heater, be sure to store
the cord as it was before
to keep it away from moving
engine parts.
If you don’t, it could be damaged.
How long should you keep the coolant heater plugged
in? The answer depends on the outside temperature, the
kind
of oil you have, and some other things. Instead of
trying to list everything here, we ask that you contact
your Oldsmobile retailer in the area where you’ll be
parking your vehicle. The retailer can give you the best
advice for that particular area.
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Automatic Transmission Operation
P
R
N
@I
3
2
1
There are several
different positions
for your shift lever.
PARK (P): This locks your rear wheels. It’s the best
position
to use when you start your engine because your
vehicle can’t move easily.
In CAUTION:
It is dangerous to get out of your vehicle if the
shift lever is not fully in
PARK (P) with the
parking brake firmly set. Your vehicle can roll.
Don’t leave your vehicle when the engine is
running unless you have to.
If you have left the
engine running, the vehicle can move suddenly.
You or others could be injured. To be sure your
vehicle won’t move, even when you’re on fairly
level ground, always set your parking brake and
move the shift lever to
PARK (P).
See “Shifting Into PARK (P)” in the Index. If
you’re pulling a trailer, see “Towing a Trailer” in
the Index.
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Locking Rear Axle
Your rear axle can give you additional traction on snow,
mud, ice, sand or gravel. It works like
a standard axle
most
of the time, but when one of the rear wheels has no
traction and the other does, the locking feature will
allow the wheel with traction to move the vehicle.
All-Wheel Drive
Your engine’s driving power is sent to all four wheels
for extra traction. All-wheel drive
is like four-wheel
drive, but there is no lever or switch
to engage or
disengage the front axle. It is
fully automatic and adjusts
itself
as needed for road conditions.
Parking Brake
To set the parking brake, hold the regular brake pedal
down with your right foot. Push down the parking brake
pedal with your left
foot. If the ignition is on, the brake
system warning light will come on.
To release the parking brake, hold the regular brake
pedal down. Pull the
BRAKE RELEASE
lever.
It is located on the
bottom driver’s side of the
instrument panel.
NOTICE:
Driving with the parking brake on can cause
your rear brakes to overheat. You may have to
replace them, and you could
also damage other
parts of your vehicle.
If you are towing a trailer and you must park on a hill,
see “Towing
a Trailer” in the Index. That section shows
what to do first to keep the trailer from moving.
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It can be dangerous to get out of your vehicle if
the shift lever is not fully in
PARK (P) with the
parking brake firmly set. Your vehicle can roll.
If you have left the engine running, the vehicle
can move suddenly. You
or others could be
injured.
To be sure your vehicle won’t move, even
when you’re on fairly level ground, use the steps
that follow.
If you’re pulling a trailer, see
“Towing
a Trailer’’ in the Index.
1. Hold the brake pedal down with your right foot and
set the parking brake.
2. Move the shift lever into PARK (P) position like this:
0 Hold in the button on the lever.
0 Push the lever all the way toward the front of
the vehicle.
3. Turn the ignition key to LOCK.
4. Remove the key and take it with you. If you can
remove the key and leave your vehicle, your vehicle
is
in PARK (P).
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Q
Leaving Your Vehicle With the
T“-lgi-- - Yunning
It can be dangerous to leave your vehicle with
the engine running. Your vehicle could move
suddenly if the shift lever is not fully in
PARK (P)
with the parking brake firmly set. And, if you
leave the vehicle with the engine running, it could
overheat and even catch fire. You or others could
be injured. Don’t leave your vehicle with the
engine running unless you have to.
If you have to leave your vehicle with the engine
running, be sure to firmly set your parking brake and
shift into PARK (P) before you leave
it. After you’ve
moved the shift lever into the PARK (P) position, hold
the regular brake pedal down. Then, see
if you can move
the shift lever away from PARK (P) without first pulling
it toward you. If you can, it means that the shift lever
wasn’t
fully locked into PARK (P).
Torque Lock
If you are parking on a hill and you don’t shift your
transmission into PARK (P) properly, the weight of the
vehicle may
put too much force on the parking pawl in
the transmission. You may find it difficult to pull the
shift lever out of PARK
(P). This is called “torque lock.”
To prevent torque lock, set the parking brake and then
shift into PARK (P) properly before
you leave the
driver’s seat.
To find out how, see “Shifting Into
PARK
(P)” in the Index.
When
you are ready to drive, move the shift lever out of
PARK (P) before you release the parking brake.
If torque lock does occur, you may need
to have another
vehicle push yours a
little uphill to take some of the
pressure from the transmission,
so you can pull the shift
lever out of PARK
(P).
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Shifting Out of PARK (P)
Your vehicle has a brake-transmission shift interlock.
You have to
fully apply your regular brake before you
can shift from PARK (P) when the ignition is in the
RUN position. See “Automatic Transmission Operation”
in
the Index.
If you cannot shift out
of PARK (P), ease pressure on
the shift lever
-- push the shift lever all the way into
PARK (P) as you maintain brake application. Then press
the shift lever button and move the shift lever into the
gear
you want.
If you ever hold the brake pedal down but still can’t
shift out
of PARK (P), try this:
1. Turn the key to OFF.
2. Apply and hold the brake until the end of Step 4.
3. Shift to NEUTRAL (N).
4. Start the vehicle and then shift to the drive gear
you want.
5. Have the vehicle fixed as soon as you can.
Parking Over Things That Burn
1
Things that can burn could touch hot exhaust
parts under your vehicle and ignite. Don’t park
over papers, leaves, dry grass or other things that
can burn.
1
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It can be dangerous to get out of your vehicle if
the shift lever is not fully in
PARK (P) with the
parking brake firmly set. Your vehicle can roll.
Don’t leave your vehicle when the engine
is
running unless you have to. If you’ve left the
engine running, the vehicle can move suddenly.
You or others could be injured.
To be sure your
vehicle won’t move, even when you’re on fairly
level ground, always set your parking brake and
move the shift lever to
PARK (P).
Follow the proper steps to be sure your vehicle won’t
move. See “Shifting Into
PARK (P)” in the Index.
If you’re pulling a trailer, see “Towing a Trailer”
in the Index.
Windows
Power Windows
These switches on the
driver’s door control
each
of the windows
when the ignition is
in the RUN position.
There are individual controls
on each of the side doors.
rress the side
of the switch with the down arrow to
lower
a window. Press the side of the switch with the up
arrow to raise a window.
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Using Cruise Control on Hills
How well your cruise control will work on hills depends
upon
your speed, load and the steepness of the hills.
When going up steep hills, you may want to step
on the
accelerator pedal to maintain your speed. When going
downhill, you may have to brake or shift to a lower gear
to keep your speed down.
Of course, applying the brake
takes
you out of cruise control. Many drivers find this to
be too much trouble and don't use cruise control on
steep hills.
Ending Cruise Control
There are two ways to turn off the cruise control:
0 Step lightly on the brake pedal.
0 Move the cruise switch to OFF.
Erasing Speed Memory
When you turn off the cruise control or the ignition,
your cruise control set speed memory is erased.
Lamps
The switches are on the left side of your instrument panel.
Press the top switch
with the parking lamps symbol on it
to turn on:
0 Parking Lamps
Sidemarker Lamps
0 Taillamps
0 License Plate Lamps
0 Instrument Panel Lights
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Press the bottom switch with the master lamps symbol on
it to turn on all the lamps listed as well as the headlamps.
Press the side of the switch marked
OFF to turn off
your lamps.
Lamps On Reminder
A reminder tone will sound when your headlamps or
parking lamps are turned on and your ignition is in OFF,
LOCK or ACCESSORY. To turn the tone off, press the
OFF switch.
Daytime Running Lamps (If Equipped)
Daytime Running Lamps (DRL) can make it easier for
others to see the front of your vehicle during the day.
DRL can be helpful
in many different driving
conditions, but they can be especially helpful
in the
short periods after dawn and before sunset.
The DRL system will make your headlamps come on at
reduced brightness when:
the ignition is on,
the headlamp switch is off, and
the parking brake is released. When the
DRL are
on, only your headlamps will be on.
The taillamps, sidemarker and other lamps won’t be on.
The instrument panel won’t be lit up either.
When
it begins to get dark, your DRL indicator light is
a reminder to turn your headlamp switch on. The other
lamps that come on with your headlamps will also
come on.
When you turn the headlamp switch off, the regular
lamps will go off, and your headlamps will change to
the reduced brightness of
DRL.
To idle your vehicle with the DRL off, set the parking
brake. The DRL will stay off
until you release the
parking brake.
As with any vehicle, you should turn on the regular
headlamp system when
you need it.
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Brake System Warning Light
Your Oldsmobile’s hydraulic brake system is divided
into two parts. If one part isn’t working, the other part
can still work and stop you. For good braking, though,
you need both parts working well.
If the warning light comes on, there could be a brake
problem. Have your brake system inspected right away.
BRAKE
This light should come on
briefly when you
turn the
ignition key to
RUN. If it‘
doesn’t come on then, have
it fixed so it will be
ready to warn you
if
there’s a problem.
If the light comes on while you are driving, pull off the
road and stop carefully. You may notice that the pedal is
harder to push. Or, the pedal may go closer to the floor.
It may take longer to stop. If the light is still on, have the
vehicle towed for service. (See “Towing Your Vehicle”
in the Index.)
Your brake system may not be working properly
if the brake system warning light is on. Driving
with the brake system warning light on can lead
to an accident. If the light is still on after you’ve
pulled off the road and stopped carefully, have
the vehicle towed for service.
When the ignition is on, the brake system warning light
will also come on when you set your parking brake. The
light will stay on
if your parking brake doesn’t release
fully. If it stays on after your parking brake is fully
released,
it means you have a brake problem.
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